That’s obviously the Borg Queen. Sure, NASA says it’s the crater Kertész located on the western edge of the monster Caloris basin on Mercury, but what better place to hide a Borg infestation? It’s obvious as well that the small crater with the bright rays coming from it is the evidence of either some sort of transwarp experiment, or a hyperdimensional corridor leading to the Delta Quadrant.

Hey, it makes as much sense as it being the Virgin Mary, or a UFO, or a crop circle.

Nah, it’s one of those Whitley Strieber big-eyed aliens with a cowpie slapped on his head. (The hazards of going after those cow recta, dontcha know.)

Seriously tho, why would the interior of the crater be so bright, and apparently (?) domed up like that? Would it just be a sign that the terrain is really fractured and smooshed up? Or did it fill with brighter material after the impact?

A UFO? I didn’t realize science had advanced so far that there is nothing left to be identified. But hey I am sure this generation is spot on and we really are only one or two discoveries away from understanding all there is to know about the universe.

For the pareidoliacly challenged, turn your head to the left about 45 degrees. You can make out her mouth, right eye, and the machinery covering her left eye. Pale skin, bald head. Maybe squint a little.

Don’t get me wrong though! I’m not saying that we’re the only civilization in our galaxy or that ohter intelligent civilization don’t exist or have existefd because when a civilization reaches radio capability it also reaches the nuclear one and then, well… a nuclear war could be just around the corner!

You know the moon is made of cheese. So these “craters” are in fact similar to crop circles in that they are a design created in a field meant for produce. Although, I suggest everyone start calling “craters” Cheese Circles instead… it makes much more sense to me.

For the pareidoliacly challenged, turn your head to the left about 45 degrees. You can make out her mouth, right eye, and the machinery covering her left eye. Pale skin, bald head. Maybe squint a little.

Some others beat me to it, but I’ll write it anyway – Richard Hoagland’s “Face on Mercury”.
Did anyone explain why the probe is named MESSENGER in all caps, instead of Messenger in italics? Is it an acronym rather than a name?

I do like your blog, but I can’t be the only one who is getting annoyed with how much you *always* have to inject snarky remarks about UFOs. Yes, we get it — you are a skeptic that will never consider the possibility of alien visitation until an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands in your backyard. I respect your position as a scientist, but I think it is short-sighted and simply unfair to reflexively dismiss all the individuals who have come forward with information, whether they are average citizens who claim to have seen aerial phenomena of some kind, or second hand accounts from family members of military officials who claim they were privy to official information on ET activity/incidents.

Understandably, I’m sure that the vast majority of eye witness UFO reports are misidentifications of terrestial aircraft, weather phenomena, or of an astronomical nature — most commonly involving observations of points of light in the night sky, the majority of which are easily explained. Many other reports originate from UFO “enthusiasts” who have a vested interest in the phenomena, while others come from individuals on the fringe of society and/or those afflicted with mental illness.
These types of common and unremarkable “UFO” reports are of course favored by the skeptic orthodoxy, who just love the opportunity to perpetuate the stereotypes associated with UFO reports and ridicule anyone who expresses even the slightest desire to learn more about the phenomena —- regardless of their educational achievement, academic background or respect for empirical science. They are all to be treated as naive and credulous individuals who don’t understand science.

However, as much as the skeptics try to avoid them, a small percentage of the eyewitness accounts are
very difficult to explain away. They are often extraordinary reports, with circumstances in which witnesses see foreign craft in broad daylight from very short distances away – able to describe in detail their shape, size and markings; with these crafts often performing feats of acceleration that are beyond our recognized laws of physics. Many of these reports come from credible witnesses such as commercial and military airplane pilots familiar with aircraft, law enforcement, public figures and professional who have no interest in ruining their reputation, etc.. Some of the most famous cases have a dozen or even hundreds of other witnesses, sometimes in many different cities in a region that all describe similar craft without having met.

Other interesting potential information comes from individuals who either themselves or their family members witnessed certain events or were privy to information within the military or other branches of government that would be consistent with UFO or alien phenomena, including everything from original Roswell employees who spoke on their deathbed about the famous incident, to more subtle cases where individuals overheard or uncovered information that would lead them to believe there is much more to the UFO story than is being revealed.

What I am trying to say is that alien aircraft may or may not exist, and they may or may not be visiting earth, and however unlikely it is, the possibility still exists. Considering how monumental such a revelation would be for both science and humanity itself, I feel it is as much a disservice to science and critical thinking to completely ignore all the non-physical evidence of UFO phenomena and ridicule those who attempt to elucidate the truth as it is to advocate and perpetuate belief in pseudo-science.

As you surely know better than I, there are many interesting unexplained phenomena in our world that science has not even begun to tackle. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the evolution of science and humanity’s view of the universe over the next five hundreds years was monumentally more dramatic of a shift in understanding than over the last five centuries since Copernicus. I’m confident that this will include discovery and revelation of intelligent life elsewhere in our universe.

Without getting too deep into a tangent here, I also wouldn’t be surprised at all if this progress lead to a much more harmonious relationship between science and spirituality (not dogmatic religion).
I’m going to take a wild guess here and assume you are a dedicated materialist/atheist. While I don’t advocate credulous belief in religious dogma and historical events taken from ancient texts or the paradoxical concept of a judgmental, all-powerful deity that personally created humanity and intervenes in our lives, (I’m more interested in eastern philosophy) I will say that I believe that fundamentally, consciousness is not solely a biological phenomenon, but a force that not only transcends our Earthly life, but perhaps is the foundation for the very existence of the universe. In essence, it is the only thing that truly exists and that from which matter, energy, and empty space are created. How science could actually approach this as a topic of study, or if we as humans are even capable of understanding it, I have no idea.
My point is that no one has any empirical evidence of either consciousness being independent of the brain (and much evidence to the contrary) or the existence of spiritual realms, reincarnation, etc. All of the evidence for this scenario (or related) of existence is anecdotal and subjective, coming from Buddhist monks, Hindu yogis and gurus, tribal shamans, individuals who claim to have psychic abilities, individuals who have had near-death experiences or fully-lucid out-of-body experiences, individuals who have used hallucinogenic compounds, even committed materialists and atheists who have spontaneous mystical experiences that forever change their life. The closest science gets to this concept would probably be the effect that measurement (and therefore consciousness itself) has in quantum mechanics, or perhaps the latest multi-dimensional theories of the universe.

Similar to UFO phenomena, despite there being no physical evidence (that we commonly know of), I think it would be silly to just ignore all of these diverse experiences of altered states of perception and consciousness if you are searching for meaning in life or the nature of existence.

Yes, we get it — you are a skeptic that will never consider the possibility of alien visitation until an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands in your backyard.

No, No, No, No, NO.
You’ve got it all wrong.
Phil is teamed up with the UN government NASA Masons Lizard People Illuminati MIB conspiracy to hide the TRUTH about extraterrestrial spacecraft, which REGULARLY land and mate with humans EVERY DAY.

But that’s not important. What is important is not the Borg Queen, but the Dairy Queen. Cheese comes from milk. Milk comes from cows. Aliens mutilate cows. Coincidence? I think not. Someone please explain this to me. My head hurts. I think it is because I am lactose-intolerant. Anyone ever see the documentary “They Live”, narrated by a former professional athlete and public figure Rowdy Roddy Piper, about the aliens among us who can only be seen by lactose-intolerant people who wear special filtering glasses (resembling sun glasses?)